Birth Reinforces Eternity

Where God was revealed to us.
Only the two of us know the magic and awe
of that presence.
Against all odds . . .
Our connection to eternity reinforced,
strengthened.
—Wayne W. Dyer

I hear the word, an overworked word now so devalued it has little emphasis at all—awesome. The word is applied to practically everything anymore—a house, an automobile’s acceleration, a piece of clothing, dessert. Is there any real wonder and awe anymore? Dyer was writing of the awe of his wife conceiving when it was against all odds. The birth of their daughter became for them, as does for so many of us with children, our connection to eternity.

If there is anything in life that is awesome, it is childbirth. It’s a miracle that an infinite number of cells can all come together over a period of time that result in a child with a certain color of hair and eyes along with all of the right number of fingers and toes. It is an awesome privilege to witness it.

In spite of Mary’s song and Joseph’s will, I wonder if either one fully realized their connection to eternity that awesome night with Jesus? Indeed, Jesus became the connection to eternity for us all in a very special way. We no longer have to wonder that it will be—only to know that it will be wonderful! I am in awe when I think about it and infinitely grateful for it, that God chose to be present with us through two very real but human beings that against all odds reinforced and strengthened our connection to eternity.

Prayer
Gracious God, I stand in awe that from the beginning what had only been a word for you became flesh and dwelt among us. I give thanks today that you knitted me together in my mother’s womb, and that I have been fearfully and wonderfully made. If in praying these words I do not yet feel them, then let me sometime during the course of this season feel them once again. Amen.

C. Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana

Let the Light Shine

In him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
-John 1:4-5

It is darkest before the dawn, is a phrase in common usage. I have used this phrase frequently but have not understood its origins. It refers in actual fact to that period a little past halfway through the night when the sun is directly on the opposite side of the planet. The Irish, very early, incorporated it into their sayings. A seventeenth century theologian, Thomas Fuller, is credited with first putting it in print.

The phrase means that there is hope, even in the worst circumstances or our darkest hours. It is certainly the heart of this passage from John which is one of my very favorite passages in scripture. In Jesus, God becomes more than a word, but one who brings light to the darkness of our lives. It is everywhere in the natal story. It is in the star that guided the wise men. It is in the aura surrounding the angel appearing to the shepherd. And, it is the sole contribution of John's gospel to the advent of Jesus.

There are so many inspiring aspects of the birth story-a young, single, pregnant woman, a gallant man, impoverished shepherds, wealthy wise men, angels, an evil king, etc. As inspiring as these are, the idea that God in Jesus placed light in our darkness, hope in our despair, presence in our loneliness, love in the midst of hatred, peace in the presence of struggle, gives me goose bumps.

Perhaps you are in the midst of a dark moment today. Remember that by the tender mercy of our God, the dayspring from on high is broken upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness . . . [and] to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:78-79).

Prayer-
Heavenly Father, I am grateful on this new day for the promise of light when darkness surrounds me, hope when despair is close at hand, and peace in the midst of wars. Let me be filled with your light today that I may let that light shine through me that others may be witness to your glory in this Christmas season and throughout all of life. In the name of him in whom your love is fully known, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

C. Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
12.13.10

In the Silence

Let never music sound
Unless an angel make it;
Let stillness reign around
Until a seraph break it-
No song was ever noble
As the unsullied wide
Prairies of silence sleeping
In peace on every side.
-Sara Teasdale

Have you ever stopped on a prairie side as you rushed from Indiana's flats to Denver's mountains? There is a roadside park on I-70 between Topeka and Manhattan, Kansas offering such an opportunity. One night as I returned from one of the frequent trips to see my parents, who were living in Kansas, I stopped at that place. It was late and there were few people there. The prairie sky was ablaze with stars that seemed so close you could touch them. There was occasional silence from the highway as I sat there on a picnic table watching the stars.

What if in the midst of that silence the heavens sang for joy? There were times during that brief moment on a prairie side I felt they were singing. Would I have heard them sing in my car if I continued the race home and had not stopped? Would I have heard them in any other place where traffic could have deafened my thoughts?

I think the shepherds sharing part of the eternal silence of quiet pastures when the heavens sang for joy! It was perhaps because of this silence that they were able to witness heaven's choir as they sang Glory to God. The angelic stars proclaimed a message that something wonderful had happened, so compelling the shepherds left their flocks and hurried to an otherwise sleepy town.

I wish for you during this Advent season on some evening that a few moments of stillness reigns around you until a seraph break it with a whispered voice and tells you God has good news of great joy which is for you. I hope you are close to some simile of a prairie side and that you pull over with your life long enough to listen for their song.

Prayer
Gracious God thank you for the music of the spheres. Grant to me moments to slow down and in the silence that reigns, if only for a time, may I hear your voice loud and clear-I have good news which is of great joy and it is for you-a savior has been born-Christ the Lord. Amen.

Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana

God's Surprises

Well the carnage of Black Friday has past and the dawn of Advent’s first Sunday has past. Of course it is easy to become jaded this time of year—to bemoan the missing Christmas greeting replaced by a generic Happy Yuletide or Happy Holidays. Just about the time you think it is time to throw in the towel some random act of cultural kindness comes your way and it occurs that God is not lost.

There is a such an random act that has had well over four million hits on Youtube. It takes place in the heart of a great cathedral of consumer worship—Macy’s. In the center of Macy’s is a huge organ that is played during the shopping days. Suddenly the early musical strains of the organ break into Handel’s Messiah chorus and a great combined choir begins to sing. Shoppers stop what they are doing and begin to sing as well.

The whole scene is transformed, and for a moment the child of Bethlehem’s Spirit pervades the whole scene. Take a few minutes and watch it. I think you’ll be moved to the same tears of joy and thanksgiving that has moved so many of us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp_RHnQ-jgU

Prayer
Almighty God who does appear in unlikely places and in ways we would not expect, surprise us this day with the joy of this advent season that we might follow you more faithfully as disciples of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana

In God's World

The year’s at the spring
And day’s at the morn;
Morning’s at seven;
The hillside’s dew-pealed;
The lark’s on the wing;
The snail’s on the thorn;
God’s in his heaven—
All’s right with the world.
—Robert Browning

The verse above reveals the sort of unbridled optimism for which Browning was sometimes chastised in his lifetime. Browning speaks of a majestic awe and perfection in the universe as if he is saying to us, Take a look around you. Everything is just as it should be. But we know better. We are well into fall and the leaves have fallen from the trees, we’ve raked the leaves as though they cluttered the view of the dead grass, the first frost has come and gone, and the lark’s song has disappeared. This morning we may not feel awe as much as may feel awful.

Rather than seeing ourselves as connected to this world, we often feel we are in it to push it around and make it conform to us and our view of perfection. Rather than accepting it, we twist it to feed our ego, creating havoc, imbalance, and what we than call imperfection. Then the ultimate iron, we blame God for the very conditions we create out of the real perfection that is our gift from God. The fall has its beauty along with the frost and the leaves that cover our grass.

Jesus was particularly good at accepting the world for what it is and the people who inhabit it. He spoke to people of the importance of loving God, one another and ourselves as a means of making the crooked paths straight, bringing low the powerful and exalting the impoverished (Luke 1:46ff). He chastised those who kept trying to perfect the world by loading rule after rule which neither they nor anyone else could keep (Matthew 23:1ff).

Okay. Life is not perfect today or any day for that matter, at least by our estimates. God is still in his heaven. There are things around you in which you may be in awe (you have life, you have opportunity, you have support if you reach for it). Give yourself five minutes to contemplate them. Focus only on perfecting your faith to live in an imperfect world. And when the world goes haywire remember that God is the One who will help you perfect the kind of faith you need to deal with it.

Prayer
Gracious God I thank you for your perfect love. Grant that I may take a few moments to contemplate the wonder of your love for me, and the others who care about me. For this day and for the bounty of your love and grace I give thanks in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana

Special Recognition

When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him,
'Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; I want to stay
at your house today.' -Luke 19:5

The red plate is coming out at the Hamon house today. We are celebrating a birthday. We've had the red plate for years. The red plate has an inscription around the brim that says, You are special. I must confess as hokey as it may sound to you, it is something that has become quite a tradition for us.

Everyone likes to be recognized. We like to hear our name and have others notice something we have contributed if it is only another year of life. I believe that is why anniversaries of all sorts are important to us. Anniversaries help us recognize, not only milestones, but who we are and what we do.

Not all recognition is welcomed. Zacchaeus was a tax collector for the occupying Roman government. So, it goes without saying that he was unpopular. I would imagine that the recognition Zacchaeus usually received was negative. He was probably shunned by about everyone except his fellow tax collectors.

Along comes Jesus who gives him some hope that in spite of what he does, God recognizes him as a person of worth. This positive recognition made Zacchaeus happy. In fact it changed his whole life and the way he did business. He did not give up tax collecting, instead continued his career in a way that was fair and just.

I'm not claiming that the red plate will turn my life around. I do know this-it will remind me that I am loved and that alone will help me, at least for this day, to be more loving of others.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for the reminders each day that you care for me. Help me to look for them in the small ways they often appear that I may accept your invitation to be fair and just in my treatment of others. Amen.

P.S. While you're waiting for that recognition from someone else, perhaps there is someone waiting to receive recognition from you.

Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana

It's What's Inside

Neither do I condemn you. Go your way and do
not sin again. -John 8:11

I heard an old religious man
But yesterday declare
That he found a text to prove
That only God, my dear,
Could love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair?
-William Butler Yeats

The first quote is from scripture where Jesus forgave the woman caught in adultery. It was an act of unconditional love-soul love. The poet Yeats speaks of the same thing-looking beyond the exterior to the interior person.

There is a part of psychology that deals with becoming a self-actualized person. Such a person is so comfortable with themselves that they do notice appearances but see only the unfolding of God in each person they encounter. I must confess that I have known very few such people over the years. Most of us will notice the yellow hair-whether it is styled or not. We'll notice the earrings and their placement or whether they are dressed properly for the occasion.
Jesus asks us to look beyond that. He looks into the soul of the woman and sees something that is lovely in spite of her unlovely circumstances. It is so with each of us-even when our souls are not what we would wish, God looks into each of us and as St. Augustine wrote, loves us as though we were the only one to be loved.

Each one of us desperately wants to reach a point of being our actual self, at least before God, that we can experience what being loved for our self alone is like. I would imagine when we truly experience that it will be less of a challenge loving others for themselves alone and perhaps less difficult tackling whatever the challenge before us may be.

Prayer
God of grace so let me set before you my soul with all of its light and dark hues that I may experience this day your love for me, meet the challenge that is before me, and so seek to love others in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana